Fix oil leak or buy new car?

I have a 2001 Chevy Tracker. It has been great, but over the past 3 months, I have had a heck of an oil leak! My hood billows smoke after driving it for more than 15 minutes and oil is definitely burning. I took it to Sears and Pep Boys and paid for a diagnostic and neither could find where the leak is coming from, thus it is not fixed. I am refilling my oil tank about every other week.





Do I invest in ANOTHER mechanic to look at it and fix it (if he can)? How much could it cost me to fix a leak like this? Or am I better off buying a new car? (Which I can't really afford either... but I don't want to keep throwing $$ into diagnostics that come to no solution...)





THANKS!!!Fix oil leak or buy new car?
zounds like you have a very leaky gasket somewhere, Oil pan, valvecover,


710 cap not screwed on??? bad PCV valve???


does it leave a puddle where you park it??how dirty is the engine, can you see oil tracks on anything?


only losing oil while driveing??


with a lot of smoke present, its hitting the exhaust and that represents a potential fire hazzard if it is leaking that bad.


open the hood and try and locate which side of the motor is smoking the worse, thats the side with the earl leak.Fix oil leak or buy new car?
if there is a leak you should have oil dripping onto the ground when parked. if you have no dripping then there is an internal problem with the engine. Visual inspection should be all thatrequired for oil leak .
Take vehicle to a dealership and have them check it out. They should be able to tell you if it is a leaky gasket or an internal engine problem.
if u open up the hood and see heavy smoke then it cud be ur valve cover gaskets, which u can do with a little kno how and patients, cuz it sounds like its leaking right on to ur exhust manifold. good luck.
Your leak will probably be a very simple fix. Hmmmm, a 300 buck fix, or a car payment another 6 years? tough call.
First of all, I have been in the auto field for over 40 years. If you took your truck to Sears and Pep Boys and paid to have your oil leak checked out and they couldn't find the leak and charged you anyways, first thing I'd do is go back tomorrow and get a refund from both of those clown outlets. Most national chain shops charge ZIP ZERO NOTHING to check for an oil leak. If it's not an obvious leak, have them put some dye in the oil. That will determine the source(s) of the leak(s). Why would you even consider going to sears or pep boys for auto repair amazes me. That's like going to WalMart for auto repairs.
well first you have to take it some where they know what they are doing......and just first thing id look at woul dbe the valve covers.. most commo place for most leaks and cost little to replace the gasket.....is a doit your self thing in most cases.... maybe 20 bucks.... but if its coming out the tail pipe then its time to start looking .. so heres what to do open the hood and look if you see oil on the top or sides you can fix it pretty cheap.. id be thinking that is where your problem is... but you also check the tail pipe if its black and wet then its time to switch